URC quarter-finals: 2 Irish, 3 South African, 2 Scottish, 1 Welsh make cut

The BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final fixtures have been confirmed following the conclusion of the regular season this weekend.

South African sides secured two of the four coveted home ties, with three SA sides in total set to feature in the KO stages. Two Irish and Scottish sides and a lone Welsh URC outfit make up the eight.

Leinster, Vodacom Bulls, Hollywoodbets Sharks and Glasgow Warriors will each host a quarter-final over the weekend of May 30–31.

Munster, Edinburgh and the Scarlets left it late but secured their quarter-final spots at the final time of asking, edging out rivals in a dramatic conclusion to the Race to the Eight.

Indeed, the final round of the pool stages proved decisive, locking in the top eight and ensuring that Durban and Pretoria will be key battlegrounds in the title race.

United Rugby Championship

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Leinster

18

16

2

0

76

2

Bulls

18

14

4

0

68

3

Sharks

18

13

5

0

62

4

Glasgow

18

11

7

0

59

5

Stormers

18

10

8

0

55

6

Munster

18

9

9

0

51

7

Edinburgh

18

8

9

1

49

8

Scarlets

18

9

8

1

48

9

Cardiff Rugby

18

8

9

1

47

10

Benetton

18

9

8

1

46

11

Lions

18

8

10

0

40

12

Ospreys

18

7

10

1

40

13

Connacht

18

6

12

0

39

14

Ulster

18

7

11

0

38

15

Zebre

18

5

12

1

29

16

Dragons RFC

18

1

17

0

9

The Bulls, second on the final standings, swept aside the Dragons 55–15 and will now welcome Edinburgh to Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. The Sharks, who edged the Scarlets 12–3 in a tight affair, finished third and will host Munster at Kings Park later that evening.

Glasgow, who slipped to fourth after a final-round loss to Leinster, face the DHL Stormers at Scotstoun. The Cape Town side secured their place in the knockouts with a lively 34–24 win over Cardiff.

The other tie sees table-toppers Leinster take on the Scarlets at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon. While Leinster finished with a strong home record, no side has ever won the competition from the No.1 seed.

URC Play-Off Format

Quarter-Finals

Friday, May 30

QF4: (4) Glasgow Warriors v (5) DHL Stormers
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
KO: 19:35 UK / 20:35 SA
Live on Premier Sports, SuperSport, URC.tv, FloRugby

Saturday, May 31

QF2: (2) Vodacom Bulls v (7) Edinburgh
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
KO: 12:30 UK / 13:30 SA
Live on SuperSport, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby

QF1: (1) Leinster v (8) Scarlets
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
KO: 15:00 UK / 16:00 SA
Live on RTE, SuperSport, BBC Wales, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby

QF3: (3) Hollywoodbets Sharks v (6) Munster
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
KO: 17:30 UK / 18:30 SA
Live on TG4, SuperSport, Premier Sports, URC.tv, FloRugby

Semi-Finals – Saturday, June 7
SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF4
SF2: Winner QF2 v Winner QF3

BKT URC Grand Final – Saturday, June 14
Winner SF1 v Winner SF2